As The Root's Jason Johnson appeared as a panel member on Wednesday's New Day on CNN, the race-obsessed political analyst was true to form as he took his latest opportunity to trash White House advisor Steve Bannon, this time calling him an "anti-Semite" and someone who "sympathizes with white terrorist organizations," as he received no pushback from CNN hosts Alisyn Camerota or Chris Cuomo over his incendiary charges.
It was also ironic that, as he appeared partly to discuss the controversy over White House press secretary Sean Spicer wrongly claiming that Adolf Hitler never used chemical weapons -- with Camerota commenting that "everyone gets in trouble" when they use Hitler analogies -- Johnson himself just over a year ago penned an article devoted to likening then-candidate Donald Trump to Germany's former Nazi dictator.
The fact that he made such a Hitler comparison should not be shocking given that Johnson has an established history of trying to tie Trump and other Republicans to neo-Nazis, the KKK, or "white nationalist terrorists" again and again and again and again and again in his appearances on CNN and MSNBC.
At 6:23 a.m. ET, after recalling Spicer's reference to Hitler, Cuomo introduced the segment: "All right, look, inaccurate, of course. Insensitive by anybody's lights. Also violates this rule about comparing things to the Holocaust to mean simply merely terrible."
Camerota injected: "Everyone gets in trouble -- when they use a Hitler analogy, everybody gets (inaudible) --"
Cuomo continued: "And it's been happening more and more, frankly. So it's a cheap thing to do, shouldn't be done. All true. Now, it comes to: What does it mean for Spicer and in this context? Is it a one-off? Or do you believe it is symptom of something?"
Johnson worked in a dig at HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson as he began:
It's the office culture, you know. It's the office culture. Remember you had Ben Carson saying that slaves were immigrants, right? Then he tried to defend that. This is not the first, the last, the second, the third, or even the fifth time that this administration has shown insensitivity, whether it's from an administration person or if it's from Sean Spicer. I don't think he's going to get fired.
Later in the segment, the topic switched to the latest gossip about whether President Trump still supports Bannon's presence at the White House. As Johnson was the last panel member to speak, he took some predictable shots at the Trump advisor:
I've always thought the President can pick who they want for their administration, but Steve Bannon is a problem. He's a white nationalist. He sympathizes with white terrorist organizations. He's an anti-Semite. I don't think he had a role in this administration, but the idea is that Trump's only unhappy because he's making him look bad, not because of the ideology he brings to the administration.
No one had any pushback against the far-left political analyst's smears as the CNN hosts then wrapped up the segment:
CHRIS CUOMO: Reality, is he going to go anywhere. Let's see. I'm a seller on that proposition.
ALISYN CAMEROTA: Panel, thank you very much.
As for Johnson's history of likening Trump to Hitler, in his March, 8, 2016, article, "The Other N-word: To Germans, There's Something Familiar About Donald Trump," Johnson recalled his recent trip to Germany and concerns from people he spoke with that Trump was similar to Hitler. In the first paragraph, the Root politics editor related: "Germans know firsthand what it means when a failed businessman moves from a fringe candidate to a leader who takes over your democracy and burns everything to hell."
He soon recounted that "...every person I spoke to said that the rise of business mogul-turned-reality-TV star-turned-GOP frontrunner Donald Trump reminded them of the early stages of Adolf Hitler's rise to power."
Later on, he added: "When your entire country is devastated because a megalomaniac riles up angry white guys, blames foreigners for everything and promises to 'make your country great again,' it makes you a little nervous to see that act repeat itself, even if it is in another country."
Nearing the end of the article, Johnson warned: "On March 5, 1933, Germany Hitler's Nazi party was elected in Germany and took the whole world on a path to ruin. We Americans, and especially black Americans, are kidding ourselves if we don't see the parallels through German eyes."
Below is a transcript of relevant portions of the Wednesday, April 12, New Day on CNN:
6:23 a.m. ET
CHRIS CUOMO: All right, look, inaccurate, of course. Insensitive by anybody's lights. Also violates this rule about comparing things to the Holocaust to mean simply merely terrible.ALISYN CAMEROTA: Everyone gets in trouble -- when they use a Hitler analogy, everybody gets (inaudible) --
CUOMO: And it's been happening more and more, frankly. So it's a cheap thing to do, shouldn't be done. All true. Now, it comes to: What does it mean for Spicer and in this context? Is it a one-off? Or do you believe it is a symptom of something?
JASON JOHNSON, THE ROOT: It's the office culture, you know. It's the office culture. Remember you had Ben Carson saying that slaves were immigrants, right? Then he tried to defend that. This is not the first, the last, the second, the third, or even the fifth time that this administration has shown insensitivity, whether it's from an administration person or if it's from Sean Spicer. I don't think he's going to get fired.
I think the fact that he threw himself on the sword after this is kind of novel. And I think that's about him protecting himself because, had he asked his boss, he probably would have said, "Hey, you don't want to apologize, we can just move on." But I think this is about the office culture of this administration. And, unfortunately, it's not going to change.
(...)
JOHNSON: And here's the thing: I've always thought the President can pick who they want for their administration, but Steve Bannon is a problem. He's a white nationalist. He sympathizes with white terrorist organizations. He's an anti-Semite. I don't think he had a role in this administration, but the idea is that Trump's only unhappy because he's making him look bad, not because of the ideology he brings to the administration.
CUOMO: Reality, is he going to go anywhere. Let's see. I'm a seller on that proposition.
CAMEROTA: Panel, thank you very much.
